A Hymn to Life

Shame has to Change Sides

By: Gisèle Pelicot, Natasha Lehrer - translator, Ruth Diver - translator

Narrated by: Emma Thompson

Brought to you by Penguin.

The sexual assault that rocked the world. A courageous woman’s rallying call for ‘shame to change sides’. For the very first time, Gisèle Pelicot tells her story.

Narrated by Academy Award winning actress Dame Emma Thompson.

*An instant #1 Sunday Times Bestseller*
*A BEST BOOK OF 2026 FOR THE OBSERVER, TELEGRAPH, GUARDIAN, FINANCIAL TIMES, NEW YORK TIMES, DAILY MIRROR, IRISH TIMES, GQ MAGAZINE, LIT HUB, BBC AND MORE.*

One November day, Gisèle Pelicot was called to a local police station and life as she knew it ended. Her husband of fifty years had been caught by a supermarket guard filming up women’s skirts. But on his computer was shattering evidence: for nearly a decade, he had been secretly drugging and raping her and inviting dozens of strangers into their home to abuse her.

Four years later, he and fifty other men were put on trial and Gisèle’s courage in waiving her right to anonymity made global headlines. ‘Shame must change sides,’ she declared, giving voice and hope to millions. Her words became a rallying cry and her decision marked a turning point in public feeling about sexual violence.

For the first time, and with unwavering honesty and grace, she describes a difficult childhood, first love, her career and motherhood. It is a life in determined search of happiness, both before and after her devastating discovery. She is an ordinary person who faces extraordinary catastrophe, whose example changes the world.

Ultimately, Gisèle Pelicot emerges with a renewed passion and reverence for living, and for love. A Hymn to Life is an unforgettable testament and promise: that victims have no reason to feel ashamed; that even after unimaginable betrayal we can go on; and that colour will always return to life.

'Extraordinary … inspires courage and compassion, but also, crucially, demands change' EMMA THOMPSON

‘A Hymn to Life is novelistic and resounds with grace … An extraordinary achievement’ FINANCIAL TIMES

‘A unique memoir by a figure of astonishing power’ GUARDIAN

© Gisèle Pelicot 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

Critic reviews

Extraordinary … vibrates with necessity … A Hymn to Life is novelistic and resounds with grace. The language is precise and vivid; the story reverberates with echoes and patterns … an extraordinary achievement … There is beauty, love, hope. And there is rage, loss and fear of the void beneath her feet ... Many could be enriched by this alertly human account of 70 years of life. Here is a perspective that is full, candid and instructive

Extraordinarily courageous … what makes it so compelling is that it shows what happens when an atomic bomb of cruelty erupts within a seemingly normal family … Her modest humility makes her courage all the more impressive

A unique memoir by a figure of astonishing power … alive with the kind of detail that wouldn’t look out of place in a good novel ... Pelicot's riveting account of her ordeal refuses to conform to any agenda but her own

Gisèle's humility and courage elevates A Hymn to Life ... What makes it so compelling is that it shows what happens when an atomic bomb of cruelty erupts within a seemingly normal family … The book's translators, Natasha Lehrer and Ruth Diver, have done an excellent job of capturing Pelicot’s tone of determined control and occasional broken anguish (Hadley Freeman)

Extraordinary … a powerful tale of a mighty woman

An emblem of resilience for women everywhere

The bravest woman in the world ... A powerful and devastating memoir

[A Hymn to Life] is gripping, it is heart-breaking, it is beautifully written (Lulu Garcia-Navarro)

Stunning, admirable

A Hymn to Life is a reminder of organised narrative’s simple power ... Replete with details of modest domesticity in modern France, A Hymn to Life is also a rousing feminist manifesto ... It seeks a proper transfer of shame from sex-crime victims to their perpetrators, and the perpetrators’ enablers

A survivor's stirring memoir

Emma Thompson reads Gisèle Pelicot's book in a beautifully empathetic way.
I have never listened to a better skilled narrator of an audiobook than this.
Emma Thompson's voice amplifies the sense of deep strength and hymn of life in Gisele Pelicot's story of dealing with her horrific experiences.

Astonishingly brave

What a marvel Ms Pelicot is. She deserves our respect! The audiobook was read with sensitivity and grace by Emma Thompson.

An amazing woman

An excellent book, very easy to read.
Giselle is an amazing human being who resisted being crushed when she found out the truth about her husband but rather became an icon and inspiration to all women.

Heartbreaking!

I actually have no words!
Brave woman married to a monster.
The storytelling is good without giving to much details.
Perfect narration!

An amazing woman

This book tells Gisèle Pelicots history of being raped by her husband and another 50 men . Having been drugged and
like a dead person .It tells about her amazing strenght during the trials afterwards.
I remember when this all came out in the news and wanted to hear it from her side. She is an extraordinary woman .
I recommend this book for everybody.
Thank you Gisèle for writing this book